


The Way It's Got To Be

by Achika



Series: In Every Circumstance [1]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Community: wrestlingkink, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-08-29 08:30:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8482606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achika/pseuds/Achika
Summary: Heath Slater's an Omega with seven kids by multiple alphas, none of which have stuck around. But he's doing  alright by himself. Honest.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the Kinkmeme: http://wrestlingkink.dreamwidth.org/279.html?thread=1218071#cmt1218071
> 
>  
> 
> __  
> I can't imagine this taking place in any wrestling based canon, so I'm thinking of this as maybe a modern day a/b/o AU? But any setting you choose would be fine by me
> 
>  
> 
> _Basically I want something with Heath where he is an omega who has had a bunch kids already even though he is still relatively young. He makes bad decisions when he goes into heat and ends up getting knocked up. People maybe say mean things behind his back about how easy he is and how he is the town bicycle. Because of this, Heath has a lot in insecurities about never finding a permanent mate, someone that will love him and all the kids he has had with different shitty alphas_
> 
>  
> 
> _(((To be honest, I would love to see Rhyno get involved somehow but I am not picky. Just ANYTHING along these lines would make me happy_
> 
> And yes, I had to rewatch the clip where Heath introduces his family to get all the kids' names.  
>  
> 
> With Respect to Sanidine, whose story Beat The Devil is amazing and probably more influential in this than even I think it is.

He knows what they say about him. He's not dumb and he's not _deaf_ , and no one is particularly subtle about their dirty looks when he and the kids go somewhere.

It's not like Heath set out to have seven kids. But it's no one's business that he's allergic to heat suppressants and hormonal birth controls, so Heath _minds his own business_ unlike the rest of the town, and keeps on going. Because Heath loves his kids more than anything, all seven of them, even when he's all by himself and thinking unkind thoughts about alphas who don't take responsibility for their actions because Leroy has another ear infection and won't stop crying and Brandi Lynn is shouting that she hates everyone and has locked Mary Lou out of the girls' room.

"Brandi Lynn let your sister in, it's her room too!" Heath yells through the door, bouncing Leroy on his hip to try and settle him.  It's not working, and Brandi Lynn just shrieks at him through the door that he doesn't understand her.

"I will have John and Justin pick that lock on the door, don't think I won't!" Heath says. He turns to the twins and gives them a Look. "and yes, I know Dean Ambrose taught you how to do it and we will be having a talk about that later,"

Ashley comes in then, dressed in her rehearsal clothes. She's been trying a tap dance routine to use for the talent portion of pageants. She says he's not allowed to see it until it's ready but that it's good, and Heath believes her because his baby is Talented.

"Is she doing it again?" Ashley says, taking in Mary Lou pounding on the bedroom door.

"Yes, and I don't have time for this.  I have to go to CVS and get Leroy's antibiotics," Heath says. Leroy lets out another wail, and Heath tries his best to be comforting. "It's OK, baby, we're gonna go get your meds to make you feel better again,"

Ashley sighs and strides to the bedroom door confidently. "I've got this, don't worry,"

Heath kisses his oldest girl's head. "Listen to your sister," He says, giving John and Justin a stern look.

 

Heath and Leroy get to CVS without much trouble. The van's making some strange noises again, Heath'll have to take it down to Baron Corbin's garage and have him look at it, but it gets the job done.

Shane and Stephanie McMahon are in CVS when Heath gets there. They must not be fighting at the moment, because their conversation looks cordial. Heath knows siblings fight, he's had to break up a lot of them, but he's never understood how the richest family in town fights like they live in the trailer park with Heath.  It's a shame, because when Shane and Steph aren't being pitted against each other by their dad, or fighting on their own, they actually work together really well. They've done good for the town that way, but the peace never lasts long. Vince has instilled some pretty toxic ideas into his own children and is pretty much Heath's go to answer for 'What Should I Not Do As A Father'

Leroy starts fussing, and Shane and Steph look over at the noise.

Shane frowns and looks a little concerned, like the good Responsible Alpha he is. Heath likes Shane, he took a chance on Heath and gave him a job, but he really doesn't want his boss pitying him.  Stephanie is rolling her eyes at Heath and looking at him like he's dirt, no Omega Solidarity there. Heath glares, feeling his face heat up, and he walks quickly towards the pharmacy counter.

Where does she get off, judging Heath. He's doing pretty damn well, his kids are amazing, and he didn't need a husband or a nanny or daddy's money to do it either.

Rhyno is working the pharmacy. Heath beams at him, and Rhyno looks down at Leroy.

"Another ear infection?" Rhyno asks.

"Yeah," Heath says, adjusting his grip on Leroy. Leroy's stopped fussing temporarily and instead is staring at Rhyno in fascination.

Heath knows Rhyno's secret. He looks tough and mean and says he doesn't like kids, but Heath knows that's a lie. Rhyno hands Leroy a sucker from a bowl he keeps under the counter. Heath unwraps it for him and Leroy sticks it in his mouth eagerly. Heath grins and for a minute he feels happy. He looks back up at Rhyno, who was watching them still. Heath smiles at him again.

Rhyno coughs, and looks awkward. "I'll go get his medicine," he says, before disappearing into the back.

Heath's smile falters, that happy feeling disappearing rapidly.

"How's that sucker, baby?" he asks Leroy, who doesn't respond. "Yeah, grape's the best flavor,"

"Which kid is that? Number 20?" Charlotte Flair asks, stepping into line behind Heath.

Heath grips Leroy tighter and ignores her.  

"Your oldest is 18 now, right?" Charlotte asks. "I remember when you got knocked up the first time. The school went crazy,"

Charlotte had been a Freshman when Heath had his first heat and gotten pregnant with Rosco. It had been mortifying and terrifying. It's been 18 years and to everyone Heath is still that kid who got knocked up in high school and just kept popping out babies because...what? He was poor and dumb and easy and didn't know anything better?

"Rosco's going to college in the fall," Heath says through clenched teeth. He's proud of Rosco, who's been saving up his own money and applied to every scholarship he could and got into the state school.

"What, ITT Truck Driving School?" Charlotte asks. "That's great! You know, I hear they make good money, maybe he'll send some home," 

"You know what, Charlotte," Heath says, bristling. Charlotte's cruisin' for a bruisin', and Heath's temper is frayed enough that he just might give it to her. "You can just -"

"Here's his prescription, Heath," Rhyno says, interrupting. Heath settles immediately, and grabs the little paper bag from Rhyno's hands.

"Thank you, Rhyno," Heath says, and tries to smile.

Rhyno nods at him and then looks past Heath to stare down Charlotte.

Heath doesn't stick around, he's got to get home and make sure nothing burned down or broke.

 

Heath gets home from work the next day and John and Justin are out front sword fighting with Mary Lou, all three of them armed with sticks.

"I saw nothing," Heath says, walking past them.

Brandi Lynn is laying with Leroy on the floor, reading to him, Rosco is in the kitchen making dinner, and Heath is filled with overwhelming love for his kids.

"Dad, hey," Rosco says. He looks nervous. "I think you should go out tonight and have fun,"

Heath's confused. And then immediately suspicious. "Why?" He asks.

Rosco bites his lip. "I know somebody got on your case last night,"

"How'd you know that?" Heath asks.

"Leroy mentioned a Mean Lady," Rosco says.

Heath sighs. "It was just Charlotte Flair runnin' her mouth. Ain't nothing new,"

"Did I ruin...Do you regret..." Rosco starts and stops, like he can't actually find the words to ask what he wants to ask. Heath hears the question anyway.

"Oh Rosco. Baby, no. I mean, I'll be honest. It was hard, and I wish I'd picked a better alpha, but _you_? I don't regret you or your siblings at all. Wouldn't trade you for the world,"

Rosco looks relieved.

"I'm going to college soon, though," Rosco says. "And then Ashley will in a couple years, you know she will. She's smarter than all of us and with the pageants..."

It's true. His two oldest will be out of the nest soon. It makes Heath proud and sad at the same time, thinking about it.

"I just think you should get out there. Maybe meet somebody. Someone who'll help with the younger ones once Ashley and I aren't around as much," Rosco says.

Heath tries not to let Rosco see how much that had hurt. Heath's a romantic at heart. That's one of the reasons he has so many kids, he goes into heat makes dumb choices with an alpha he's infatuated with because he thinks this time it'll be different and then they're gone when the heat lifts, leaving Heath broken hearted and with a kid to take care of.

No alpha's going to want to tie themselves to an omega with 7 kids by other alphas.

So Heath laughs and ruffles Rosco's hair. "How'd I get so lucky to have such good kids? You'd think at least one of you would be evil,"

There's a loud crash from the front lawn.

"I don't want to know," Heath says, looking skyward.

"I'm serious, Dad. Ashley'll be home soon. She and I'll look after the others. Just...go out and have fun. Even if you don't meet anyone, you deserve a night off every once in a while," Rosco says.

"Alright, alright, I'll go," Heath says, throwing up his hands in surrender.

 

Heath gets cleaned up and heads to the bar. If nothing else, Dean Ambrose will be there and Heath still needs to talk to him about teaching his boys bad habits.

Heath gets himself a beer and then walks over to the dart board where Dean's playing a game by himself.

"Hey, Slater, you want to play?" Dean asks.

"Nah. Wanna talk to you about lock picking, though," Heath says.

Dean puts on an exaggerated innocent face. "I don't know what you're talking about, Officer,"

"I don't want my boys getting into trouble, you hear me?" Heath says.

"Hey, I didn't teach 'em to steal anything. Just how to get back inside if they get locked out on accident," Dean says.

"I just have it hard enough without worrying about them getting picked up by the cops. I don't want them learning bad habits, that's all,"

Dean looks offended for a second before grinning.

"You hear that everybody? Heath Slater thinks I'm a Bad Influence!" He yells proudly.

The rest of the barflies titter and laugh.

"That's cuz you are, Uce," Roman yells back from behind the bar. "Now shut up and let people drink,"

Dean sticks out his tongue at Roman.

"You sure you don't wanna play?" Dean offers Heath again.

The door opens and Rhyno walks in and sits down at the end of the bar, away from everyone else.

"Nah, I'm good," Heath says.

Dean laughs and claps a hand onto Heath's shoulder. "Have fun, then," he says, before shoving Heath lightly in the direction of the bar.

Rhyno probably doesn't want to be bothered, but Heath should say Hi. And thank him for inadvertently stopping Heath from punching Charlotte Flair and getting sued to Hell and back.

"Rhyno, Hi," Heath says, smiling.

"How's Leroy?" Rhyno asks.

"Good!" Heath says. "He already feels a bit better. That's probably just psycho....psycho...in his head, but I'll take it,"

"That's good," Rhyno says, and Roman hands him a beer.

"I wanted to thank you," Heath says.

"What for?" Rhyno asks, looking confused.

"I was getting ready to fight Charlotte last night when you came back with Leroy's meds. It would have been a bad idea, so thanks for distracting me," Heath says.

Rhyno frowns. "She was being mean,"

Heath feels cold. "You...You heard what she was saying?"

Heath just thought it was good timing, he didn't think Rhyno had actually heard Charlotte calling him whore trash who couldn't provide for his kids.

Rhyno shrugs. "I've heard people say plenty of mean things,"

"Oh Jesus," Heath mutters. He _respects_ Rhyno and now he's heard what people have said about Heath? How beyond embarrassing. "I've got...I've got to go. I'm sorry,"

"Wait," Rhyno says before Heath can flee, grabbing Heath's wrist gently. Heath stills immediately, even though he still wants the ground to swallow him whole. "Just because I've heard it, doesn't mean I agree with it,"

"Oh," Heath breaths. He grins, and Rhyno looks away and takes a sip of his beer. "Thanks, Rhyno. That may be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me,"

"Yeah, well," Rhyno mumbles, embarrassed, and lets go of Heath's wrist.

 

So the night ends well, he got out of the house and only worried a little bit about his kids. He gets home and everyone's asleep. 

"Did you have fun?" Rosco asks, poking his head up over the couch he'd been sleeping on.

"Yeah, it was good," Heath says, and rests his hand on top of Rosco's head. "Go back to bed,"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heath gets some unwanted advice and and unwanted surprise.

There's a work picnic, and Heath brings his daughters. It's hard to give each of his kids one on one time, but breaking it down into smaller groups helps. He'll take the boys out to a movie or something next weekend.

Brandi Lynn immediately goes off to hang out with the other kids, and Mary Lou who is so shy trails after her. Ashley stays with Heath for a while until someone asks her about her pageants, and Heath knows that conversation will go on for a long time and continues to mingle without her.

"Your daughter is very smart," Stephanie McMahon says to Heath.

"They all are," Heath says proudly.

"I like smart people," Stephanie says. "Do you want me to give you some advice?"

Heath hesitates. Stephanie's never been nice to him before, and he knows how manipulative she can be. She's probably going to try to get him to quit working for Shane, if they're fighting again. But he doesn't want to make her mad, and this might be the longest conversation they've ever had.

"Sure," Heath says. Just because she talks doesn't mean he has to listen.

"It's not that hard to catch an Alpha," Stephanie says and Heath really does not want to have this conversation with his boss's sister. "and it's not that hard to keep one, either,"

"Look, Steph..." Heath says.

"No, no. I'm trying to help. There's a trick. It's called _planning_. The hard part is finding an alpha who's touch doesn't make you nauseous. After that it's a piece of cake. You just sink your claws in and refuse to let go until you're in their head," Stephanie says easily, like that's not a horrifying way to approach relationships.

Heath is abruptly reminded of one of the things that they Don't Talk About. Stephanie had been kidnapped, back when she was a teenager. Not much older than Heath had been when he'd had Rosco. Sheriff Austin had rescued her just in the nick of time, apparently, but it had been revealed at some point after that Vince McMahon had orchestrated the entire thing and it had gone a little too far.

Shane says that Stephanie was never the same after that.

"I picked Hunter," Stephanie says. "It's not a bad thing to go after what you want,"

"I'll...keep that in mind," Heath says.

"You do that," Stephanie says, and then goes off to find her husband.

As in love as they seem to be, Heath's not sure that he wants to make them his role models for a healthy relationship.

 

The grocery store is an adventure, trying to get everything he needs for the family and keep all his coupons organized.

Heath goes through the aisles, filling his cart. Brandi Lynn's going through a phase where she doesn't want to eat meat, and Leroy only wants the chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs.

He's so busy looking at the list to make sure he's got everything that he just barely misses running his cart into someone.

"Oh! Sorry!"  Heath says.

Rhyno shakes his head. "It's fine,"

It's not that Heath has been avoiding Rhyno, honestly, he just hasn't seen him around since that night at the bar. So Heath's not exactly sure what to say to him. It'd be weird and awkward to bring it up and thank him again for being nice, but it feels weird to just ignore it.

Heath feels his face heating up. Curse his red-headed complexion.

"You might want to avoid the cereal aisle," Rhyno says suddenly.

"Why?" Heath asks, grateful for the break in the silence.

"Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are fighting again," Rhyno says.

"Oh my god, again?" Heath asks, and Rhyno nods.

If ever there was a case of someone accidentally following Stephanie McMahon's advice a little too well, it was Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Heath wasn't sure what had happened between them, but the break up had been nasty. And so had getting back together. And the 2nd break up.

"Some people just don't know how to appreciate what they've got, I guess," Heath says, shaking his head. He doesn't know if he's referring to Sami or Kevin there. Both.

Rhyno's giving him a look. Oh no, did that come out bitter?

"Thanks for the warning!" Heath says, desperately trying to change the subject, and plasters on a smile. "Luckily we're still good on cereal. I'll see you around!"

 

Brandi Lynn walks in Friday afternoon with a head full of purple hair and Heath nearly has a heart attack. Justin and John immediately start "ooooh"ing like they're gonnna get to see her get grounded.

"Young lady! What happened to your hair?" Heath asks.

Brandi Lynn gets defensive, glaring at him. "Tonya did it for me,"

"Well I'm going to be talking to Tonya's mom!" Heath says. "Get in the car, we're fixing it,"

"No!" Brandi Lynn yells. "I like it and I want to keep it this way!"

"Honey, you know they're not going to let you go to school like that. Now get in the car," Heath says sternly.

Brandi Lynn stomps back out the door, pouting, and Heath grabs the carkeys.

Brandi Lynn doesn't talk to him the entire way to CVS. Or into CVS. Or to the Hairdye aisle.

Heath scans the different boxes, looking for a shade that matches Brandi Lynn's natural hair color.

"Your hair was so pretty, baby, why'd you change it?" Heath asks.

"Maybe I was tired of everyone thinking they know everything about me just because I've got red hair like everyone else in this stupid family!" Brandi Lynn yells.

Heath fumbles the box he'd been pulling off the shelf. He catches it, and put it back carefully.

"Brandi Lynn..." Heath says, his heart breaking. People can say what they want about him, Heath's used to it, but if they're saying things his _kids_...

Brandi Lynn wavers, looking as upset as Heath feels.

There's the sound of someone clearing their throat. Rhyno's standing there in his pharmacist coat.

"Maybe a compromise?" Rhyno offers, and plucks a box off the shelf. It's a nice, warm dark brown color.

"It's pretty," Heath says, when he can find his voice.

Brandi Lynn nods silently and takes the box of Rhyno's hands. Heath hugs her tight and buries his face in her purple hair. It still smells like chemicals.

"I'm so sorry," Heath says. "They don't know anything about you, ok? And they don't know anything about our family. Just ignore them, and if you can't, tell me and I'll make them stop. I promise,"

Brandi Lynn starts crying.

"Shh, it's ok," Heath says, petting her hair. He looks up and Rhyno is still there watching them, concerned.

Brandi Lynn stops crying and pulls away, wiping her face embarrassedly.

"I'm OK," she says stubbornly.

"You can keep it purple for the weekend," Heath says, and Brandi Lynn actually smiles at him.

"Thank you for the color suggestion Mr. Rhyno," Brandi Lynn says, turning around to face him. "I do actually like it,"

Rhyno smiles, just a bit. and Heath feels his heart flutter. Oh no, Heath thinks. This is going to be a problem.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heath gets some help and freaks out about it, and his kids are too smart for his own good.

Heath's driving home from work when the van suddenly makes a terrible noise and then stops.

"No," Heath says. "No, no _no_ ,"

He'd meant to take the van over to Baron's, he really had, but stuff kept coming up and he'd had to put it off.

He hits the emergency lights and gets out of the van. He lifts the hood, but it tells him nothing because Heath doesn't actually know anything about cars.

He calls Rosco to tell him he'll be home late, and then he calls Baron Corbin to come get the van.

And then he waits.

A car turns onto the road and at first Heath thinks it's Baron, but that's not Baron's truck.

"Everything OK?" Rhyno asks.

"Yeah, just some car trouble. Baron's on his way, though," Heath says.

Rhyno looks at the last dregs of sunlight creeping up over the horizon. "It's getting late, I'll wait with you,"

"That's real nice, but you don't have to," Heath says. He's been avoiding Rhyno, just a little, ever since he realized his little crush was happening.

It's just better if he doesn't get his hopes up, is all.

"I don't mind," Rhyno says.

So they stand together leaning against Heath's van, watching the stars come out.

"How's Brandi Lynn doing?" Rhyno asks. "She still upset?"

"She's good. She kicked a boy in the face after school. Sami Zayn and I had to pretend to be disapproving, but I got her a cupcake for it," Heath says, grinning.

The boy had deserved it, he'd been making fun of Brandi Lynn's clothes. They were hand-me-downs of Ashley's but there was nothing wrong with them. Heath kept his eye on stuff like that.

"She's tough," Rhyno says.

"She is. And she's talking to me more now," Heath says.

"Lots of kids have that phase, luckily hers didn't last long," Rhyno says.

"I think her new hair color helps. It gives her confidence," Heath says, looking over at Rhyno. "It was a good choice,"

Rhyno shuffles his feet, awkward. "It just seemed different enough but not too different, you know? I probably shouldn't have butted in like that,"

"No, I appreciated it," Heath says. "I didn't know what to do. Seeing my baby hurting like that..."

"You've done a good job, you know. You raised good kids," Rhyno says.

Heath smiles. "Yeah, yeah I did, didn't I?"

Rhyno's standing close enough that Heath's skin kind of prickles with it. It wouldn't take much effort for Heath to reach out, just a little, and take Rhyno's hand.

Heath doesn't do it.

Baron's truck turns the corner and pulls to a stop.

"Wonder what the problem is," Baron says as he walks to the van's hood. He doesn't even glance at it. "Oh wait, it's what I fucking told you needed fixing the _last_ time your piece of shit van was in my shop,"

Heath turns bright red and glanced over at Rhyno quickly, embarrassed. "I don't need your sass, Baron. You know I couldn't afford it then,"

"Well you better be able to afford it now," Baron says, actually looking under the hood now. "Because it's definitely broke,"

"How much is it?" Rhyno asks, curious.

"$800," Baron says, not looking up from his inspection.

"$800!" Heath says, incredulous. "It was $650 last time!"

Baron gives Heath a flat look. "And you've been driving on it since then and fucking shit up even worse. Don't make me hike the price up even more,"

Heath clamps his mouth shut.

How on earth is he going to afford $800?

He starts mentally calculating how much he has in the bank, and when payday is. The bills are coming due soon. Maybe Shane would give him a loan? But god, that'd be embarrassing asking his boss for money, he can't do that. And Shane's nice and all, but he's a McMahon and would probably say no, anyway.

He's definitely _not_ going to ask Rosco to dip into his college money. Never.

Heath will think of something.

 

Heath's plan turns out to be 'ask Baron nicely for a payment plan'. Heath doesn't hold out much hope, Baron isn't exactly sympathetic, but hopefully if Heath shows willing, Baron will let it slide.

"Here's your keys, get this eyesore out of my shop," Baron says, before Heath can even open his mouth.

"Um," Heath says, catching the keys that Baron had thrown at him. "the money?"

Baron rolls his eyes. "It's paid for,"

"How?" Heath asks, still disbelieving.

"The fucking money fairy," Baron says. "Did he seriously not tell you he was going to do it?"

"Who?" Heath asks, but he's starting to get an idea of what happened. His gut twists, and Heath can't tell if it's happiness or panic setting in. 

"Rhyno, who else?" Baron says dismissively.

"Why'd you let him do that?!" Heath yells. That's _way too much_. Why would Rhyno have done that?

"I don't care who pays me as long as I get paid," Baron says. "Don't know why he bothered to spend so much to get in your pants, you'd have hopped on his dick anyway,"

"There's no reason to be _mean_ , Baron," Heath says.

He needs to talk to Rhyno.

 

Luckily, Rhyno happens to be at work. He doesn't want to ambush Rhyno at his job, but they _need_ to talk.

"Why?" Heath says, stepping up to the pharmacy counter. There's no one else around, thank God.

"Why what?" Rhyno asks.

"'Why what?' Don't you 'Why what?' me, I know you know what I mean!" Heath says, giving Rhyno the same look he gives John and Justin when they cause trouble.

"You needed your van, and it's not like I have a lot of stuff to spend money on," Rhyno says. Like it was that simple.

"I had it under control!" Heath says. He hadn't, but Rhyno doesn't need to know that.

"I just wanted to help," Rhyno says, looking sad.

Heath sighs and closes his eyes. God, why couldn't Rhyno just be a jerk. It would make everything so much easier. He takes a deep a deep breath. He's got to put down some boundaries, should probably have done it before now honestly, because he has never once been interested in someone who didn't later turn out to be a terrible person. He wants Rhyno to stay a good guy and Heath can't - won't - go through that again.

"You've got to stop being so nice, I'm getting all twisted up," Heath says.

"I'm... sorry?" Rhyno says, confused.

"Thank you for everything," Heath says, because he was raised right. And then he leaves because if he doesn't Heath might do something stupid like kiss him.

 

 

The bleachers are fairly crowded, Heath's not sure that there's room for everyone to sit together.

"Look," Brandi Lynn says, poking Heath's side. "There's some open space by Mr Rhyno,"

"Oh," Heath says. Sure enough, Rhyno has some of the only open space left next to him. "Um,"

Heath hasn't spoken to Rhyno since he'd told him to stop being so nice. He doesn't know what to say to him.  He's spent days thinking about it. Rhyno's never given any indication that he's anything but genuine, is it really fair to hold what other alphas have done against him? Grandma Slater would probably smack Heath, for telling someone to _stop being nice_.

The kids have noticed his hesitation, now. The younger ones look confused, but Ashley and Rosco share some sort of look

"Brandi Lynn's right, there's plenty of space," Rosco says, and starts leading them over.

"Go on, Dad, you first," Ashley says with a pointed raise of her eyebrow.

Why are his children so smart?

"Hi," Heath says, not quite looking Rhyno in the eye as he sits down next to him.

"Hi Mr Rhyno!" Brandi Lynn says. She smiles and waves down the row. Leroy waves too.

Rhyno smiles back at them. "Hi, everybody," He pauses. "Hi, Heath,"

Once the players have taken the field and everyone else is distracted, Rhyno turns to Heath.

"I'm sorry. I overstepped. I'm not...good. At people," Rhyno says quietly, so that no one else will overhear. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable,"

Heath hadn't even considered that Rhyno had been thinking out it just as much as Heath had.

"You didn't, not the way you're probably thinking," Heath says. "And I'm sorry too. I must have seemed pretty crazy,"

Rhyno shakes his head. "I won't do it again,"

Someone on the field scores, and everyone cheers wildly.

Rhyno's hand is in reach. Heath  doesn't take it, but he puts his down next to it so that their pinkies are touching. They watch the entire game like that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a storm and some honesty.

The sky outside is pitch black. The moon and stars are all hidden behind dark clouds. The trees are swaying ominously in the wind, but Heath can only see them when the entire sky lights up with a booming of thunder. The rain is so hard that his headlights aren't doing much.

Mary Lou is probably scared out of her mind, at home. She's never liked storms, and this is the worst one that Heath can remember in a very long time.

Eventually, he decides that it's not safe to keep going. He trusts Baron's work on the van, but it's old and there's no telling when something could go wrong and with the fact that he can barely see in front of him Heath just can't risk a tree branch falling on the road.

Heath manages to get to the CVS and pull into the parking lot. He takes a second to watch the rain and brace himself before opening the car door and making a break for the building.

He steps through the door and almost runs straight into Rhyno, who is not wearing his pharmacist coat.

"Whoa. Heath? What are you doing out in this weather?" Rhyno asks.

"I was trying to get home, but I didn't trust the van would make it all the way there," Heath says. "Figured I should stop, and here seemed better than the side of the road,"

Rhyno frowns. "The road to the trailer park is cut off. There's a downed power line or something. Didn't you hear?"

Heath shakes his head. "Radio in the van is busted. I should check on my kids,"

Heath sends a text to Rosco and Ashley, and gets prompt responses that they're fine and they still have power. He tells them to stay put and to make sure John and Justin don't go out into the storm to play around.

"I was just getting ready to leave," Rhyno says. "My place isn't far from here. You could come with me, if you want,"

Heath looks up from his phone in surprise.

"You don't have to," Rhyno says. "But the storm is supposed to last all night and it might be more comfortable than staying here,"

"Ok," Heath says. Rhyno looks surprised, and frankly Heath's a little surprised himself. But the nerves are worth it when Rhyno gives Heath a small smile.

"Ok, then. Are you ready to run for it?" Rhyno asks, pointing to his car in the parking lot.

Heath nods.

"On the count of three. One...Two...Three!"

 

Heath steps out of the bathroom, the towel Rhyno had given him gripped tight in his hand.

"I'm sorry to intrude," Heath says.  He's wearing some sweatpants of Rhyno's and a t-shirt that's too big for him.

"You're not. I invited you," Rhyno says. He walks over to Heath and takes the towel. "You're still dripping. Can I?"

Heath bites his tongue but nods. Rhyno drapes the towel over Heath's head and begins to gently work the water out of Heath's hair. It's the most intimately Heath's been touched in...years. Since he got pregnant with Leroy.  Which is kind of pathetic, he thinks, because it's not even anything big. Just Rhyno standing in front of him, steady, and touching him kindly.  Heath is stupidly, profoundly grateful that the towel hides whatever's showing on his face. He tells his heart to _slow down_. Surely Rhyno can feel how fast it's beating?

"There," Rhyno says, once he's satisfied, and lowers his hands. Heath takes a shuddering breath and reaches up and pushes the towel back so that Heath can look at him.

"Thanks," he says quietly.

Heath should be nervous. He's too comfortable. Everything here smells and feels like Rhyno and it's _comfortable_   and this is when he makes stupid decisions. It's hard to tell himself to be smart when Rhyno looks at him like that.

The storm outside is still raging. A particularly loud crack of thunder causes Rhyno to look out the window and shake his head.

"It's not getting any better," Rhyno says.

Heath's better judgment tells him that he shouldn't be there, but he has a text message from Ashley saying that the kids had all hunkered down in the living room and were having a movie night to keep Mary Lou and Leroy from getting scared and everything was fine so he has no excuse. And honestly he doesn't _want_ to leave.

"I'll sleep on the couch and you can take the bed," Rhyno says.

"I can't kick you out of your bed. I'll take the couch," Heath says.

Rhyno gives Heath an unimpressed look.

"I...Ok," Heath relents. "But only if you're sure! I don't want to be an inconvenience,"

 "I like you, Heath. I thought I was being pretty obvious about it. You're not an inconvenience,"

"Oh," Heath says weakly. Fantasizing from afar about the kind alpha who helps him out of problems was one thing, but Heath had never actually entertained the notion that _Rhyno_ might be interested in _him._

"I can go slow," Rhyno says, clearly sensing Heath's surprise. "I don't have a problem with moving slow. I just need to know if we're _actually moving_ ,"

"I...We are," Heath says forcefully. Heath's brain is still spinning from Rhyno's confession but he knows he has to be honest, too. "I'm sorry. I know I've been sending mixed signals and -"

Rhyno shakes his head. "Don't apolgize. I understand why. I know it's probably not easy for you. I just wanted to make _my_ intentions clear. I like you,"

"I like you too," Heath says. Heath hasn't felt quite this silly over an alpha liking him since High School.

Rhyno takes Heath's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.  "I'll go make up the bed for you,"

Rhyno comes back out a few minutes later, carrying a blanket and a pillow. He puts them down on the couch.

"Alright, everything's good to go. I'll be out here if you need anything," Rhyno says.

Heath leans forward, before he can overthink himself, and kisses Rhyno's cheek.

 "Good night," he says, and shuts the door behind him before Rhyno can say anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter @withoutthesour for more ridiculous wrestling talk. I have the best opinions and you might get sneak peeks of what I'm writing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the first date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the smut has finally caught up to us.

"Are those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?" Bo asks from his little porch, raising his eyebrows at Heath as Heath gets home. He'd picked up the van from CVS and he hadn't planned on getting interrogated by his nosey neighbor.

"None of your _business_ , Bo," Heath says, trying not to blush.

Bo gives him a big smile. "I don't judge. Only you can know what's best for you,"

Bo only moved into the park recently, leaving his family compound on the outskirts of town. He's  been on a whole Self-Help kick recently or something and Heath loves Bo, he does. He's just...a lot to deal with.

"Good _bye_ , Bo," Heath says, getting the door to his trailer open and going inside.

There's a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor where some of the kids are still asleep.

"Dad!" Ashley says, poking her head out of the kitchen.

Rosco pops up behind her. "We're making breakfast. Do you want pancakes?"

"Did everything go okay last night?" Heath asks, making his way to the kitchen.

"It was fine," Rosco says.

" _We_ should be asking _you_ that," Ashley says, raising her eyebrows at him. "Just what kind of hour do you call this, young man?"

"How is Mr. Rhyno doing?" Rosco asks, far too innocently for it not to be teasing.

Heath ruffles their hair. "Don't you sass, me, children. I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it,"

"You've been making eyes at him for _ages_ , Dad," Ashley says.

"I have _not,_ " Heath says, but he knows it's true. Even long before he'd realized exactly how much he liked Rhyno Heath had always smiled at him and talked at him until Rhyno eventually started talking back.  "And what do you even know about making eyes at someone, huh?"

"We're glad you're happy," Rosco says.

Heath loves his kids so much. He pulls them both into a hug and kisses their heads.

"Don't get your hopes up. We haven't even been on a date yet, ok?" Heath says.

He remembers how attached they'd gotten to Leroy's dad, before he up and left. Little Ashley had cried for weeks. He doesn't want them to get hurt again, if he and Rhyno don't work out.

And it doesn't hurt to remind himself of it, either.

 

Heath and Rhyno make plans to go to Roman's bar for their date. It's low pressure.  The Empire is busy tonight and Heath and Rhyno are having a nice time chatting and watching Roman try to wrangle Dean, who has been recruited to help serve drinks and won't stop flirting with the customers.

At least, they were until Randy Orton saunters up to their table like the snake he is.

"I didn't believe it when I heard, but I'll be damned. Congratulations Heath, you've finally convinced someone to stay for more than a week," Randy says.

That's rich, coming from Randy who's never exactly had a stellar track record with relationships either.  Just because he's shacked up with Bo's holy roller brother for now doesn't mean Randy gets to throw stones.

Heath's about to say so, when a glass goes flying through the air and hits Randy clean in the head. Rhyno stands abruptly and smashes Randy's head into the table. It's fast, over before Randy could see it coming.

"You need to learn some manners, Orton," Rhyno says to Randy's dazed body and  grabs Heath's wrist, dragging him up out of his seat and towards the door before Randy can shake it off and fight back. Roman's already making his way over to Randy to check on him, and Luke Harper's getting out of his chair with visible reluctance.

Rhyno drags Heath out of the bar and into the alley and shoves him up against the brick. He presses his face into Heath's neck.

Heath is shocked. And confused. And a little worried. And very unfortunately turned on.

"Rhyno?" Heath asks shakily. "Are you - What on Earth -"

"Why do you let them talk to you like that?" Rhyno rumbles. If he's moved at all it was only to get closer to Heath, pressing up against him. The brick is rough on Heath's back and Rhyno's breath is hot on his skin.

"Most of the time it's not worth fighting about," Heath says.  He feels Rhyno's hands clench. It sends a shiver down Heath's spine and Heath practically melts against Rhyno.

"I'm sorry, I haven't lost control like this in...a long time," Rhyno admits. He still hasn't looked at Heath, just breaths in Heath's scent like it's calming him down. "I used to...well. In retrospect, I'm not proud of a lot of things I've done. But when he started talking to you like that I couldn't stop myself. You don't deserve that. You're a good person and you raised good kids,"

_I could do it again_ some part of Heath's brain thinks wildly, the traitor, and Heath only barely stops himself from saying it out loud. But the thought echoes in his head.

"As great as this alley is for fucking in, and believe me, I have fond memories of this alley, " comes an amused voice from the street. Rhyno shifts to see who's interrupting them, and the friction doesn't help the warmth that had settled in Heath's stomach. It makes it difficult to concentrate on what Dean says. "Luke Harper isn't looking too happy right now. _Personally,_ I'd just tell him and Bray 'talk shit, get hit, the boytoy brought it on himself' and to go fuck themselves, but for some reason Roman thinks that's a bad idea and that you should get out of here,"

"Tell Roman I'll pay for what I broke," Rhyno says. He's stepped away from Heath - barely. "I should take you home,"

The ride home goes by fast. Heath's mind is working a mile a minute. Rhyno had defended him, and the things he'd said... Heath feels his face heating up. If Dean hadn't interrupted them...

Heath glances over at Rhyno. They were pulling up to Heath's trailer now.  The warm feeling that had started in the alley hasn't abated any.

Heath doesn't remember taking off his seat belt once the car parks, but the next thing he knows he's leaning over the emergency break and the cupholder and kissing Rhyno.

Rhyno puts a hand in Heath's hair and Heath can't stop the noise he makes. Crawling into Rhyno's lap is difficult, but Heath is motivated.

Rhyno looks dazed, when the kiss breaks. It's cute, and Heath wants to kiss him again, wants to never stop, so he does.

Why had he ever thought this was a bad idea? This was clearly the best idea. Heath scratches his fingernails down Rhyno's neck and the shudder and pleased groan he gets for it  is so good. He can feel Rhyno getting hard underneath him and that's even _better_.

They'd been dancing around this for too long, and Heath wants Rhyno's dick in him, immediately if possible. He shifts so he can unzip Rhyno's pants. Rhyno's hands go to Heath's ass, and the deep parts of Heath's brain are pretty pleased with that, but it would be better if they could get Heath's pants off too. Ugh, Heath hasn't fucked in a car since Ashley was conceived and now he remembers why. It's too complicated and he gets impatient.

"Heath, wait," Rhyno says as he pulls away, before Heath can actually get his pants undone, resting his forehead against Heath's. Heath makes a disappointed noise, why are they stopping?

It's clearly difficult for Rhyno to think. He gives Heath a suspicious look and leans forward until he can smell Heath's skin.

"You're...are you in heat?" Rhyno asks. He still has a tight grip on Heath.

"Not for another mo-" Heath starts to deny, he keeps _track_ of that shit, but then his brain wakes up just enough for him to realize that _this is exactly what it feels like_ when his heat is just starting and "Oh no. It's _early,"_

The only good thing about Heath's heats was that they were regular and didn't just show up whenever they pleased. Now, apparently, he couldn't even count on that. It must have been the combination of Rhyno defending Heath's honor in a barfight and then being all tactile after that kickstarted it early.

"Fuck," Rhyno groans, and lets his head fall back against the headrest.  Heath follows the motion, and kisses Rhyno's throat because it's right there.

"We shouldn't," Rhyno says, but he pulls Heath up into another kiss. 

"But we could," Heath says. _This is why you have seven kids!_ his brain says before being violently strangled by Heath's libido. His brain never wins that fight.

Rhyno looks torn. Heath takes one of Rhyno's hands and leads it to the damp spot where Heath's practically soaked though his jeans, he's so wet. Heath whimpers at the touch, even through the cloth. It's not enough.

Rhyno's eyes go wide. "Fuck," he says again. The kiss that he pulls Heath into this time is bruising.

"I'm not going to fuck you in a car," Rhyno says, even though he clearly wants to. Heath whines. Rhyno runs a hand though Heath's hair and kisses him again lightly.

"But I clearly can't let you go inside like this, either," Rhyno says, and starts undoing Heath's zipper.

Heath's brain is too fuzzy to think or pay attention to anything at the moment other than the feel Rhyno's hands, so he misses how exactly Rhyno does it but suddenly Heath's pants are down. The first touch of Rhyno's fingers nearly has Heath screaming with just how good it is, and then Rhyno starts so carefully and gently sliding his fingers _inside_ and it feels like Heath is going to burst into flames.  Heath reaches out and kisses Rhyno to try to muffle the noises he's making but he's not sure it  works.

Rhyno's fingers are thick and amazing and he takes Heath _apart_.  It's not long before Heath's tumbling over the edge of an orgasm.

"Oh my god," Heath laughs. The heat's retreated for now, even if it'll be back later. He kisses Rhyno's face, giddy. He feels like a teenager again.

The porch light turns on, and Heath laughs again.

"I think they know I'm home," he whispers conspiratorially.

Rhyno laughs too, and helps Heath get cleaned up and presentable.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trouble gets made and milestones achieved.

Heath's heat is manageable, at home and with the sounds of his kids always in the other rooms, so he's only out of commission for a few days.

When he leaves his bedroom Leroy's in the living room drawing, so Heath ruffles his hair on the way to the kitchen.

Heath grabs himself a glass to get some water when he sees some casserole dishes that he's never seen before in his life sitting in the drying rack by the sink. Heath stares at them, puzzled.

"Mr. Rhyno stopped by while you were indisposed," Rosco says, leaning against the doorway. "He wouldn't come inside, but he dropped off some casseroles for us,"

Heath remembers all at once exactly what happened the last time he'd seen Rhyno, and he's fuzzy on the details from the heat, but he remembers enough to be absolutely mortified.

"Oh my God," Heath says miserably. He's ruined everything. He had tried so hard to let this time be different, but his stupid hormones had taken over once again.

                                                                                                                                                                       

But Heath's got to take Rhyno his dishes back and face the music.

"Hi," Heath says. He looks at the ground instead of Rhyno's face. "I, uh, brought these back for you,"

"How are you feeling?" Rhyno asks.

"Fine. I think after seven kids, even your heat starts to think 'Maybe we're good here'" Heath says.

Rhyno reaches out to where Heath's gripping the casserole dishes tight and places his hands on top of Heath's.

"You don't seem 'Fine'" Rhyno says.

Heath finally looks up.

"Well, I'm _embarrassed_ , for one thing. We were having a perfectly nice night before my biology screwed it all up," Heath says.

"You didn't screw anything up. If anything, I ruined the night by attacking Randy Orton," Rhyno says, looking embarrassed himself. "So I'd say we're even,"

"I didn't know we were keeping score," Heath says, relaxing.

Maybe everything wasn't ruined after all.

 

 

Heath comes home from a very long day work that felt even longer because Shane and Stephanie were fighting again to find Rhyno and Ashley standing in the living room, staring  disappointedly at John and Justin. The twins were hanging their heads in shame.

"What happened this time?" Heath asks, resigned. He can feel a headache just waiting to start. Usually looks like that mean he's going to get a call from the principal.

"Sheriff Austin was at CVS when he got a call about some vandalism," Rhyno says. "Seems Corbin's Garage got a new paint job,"

"Mr. Corbin saw two red-headed kids running away. I wonder who that was," Ashley says, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at her brothers.

"You _didn't_ ," Heath says in disbelief.

"It was just a joke," Justin mutters. John elbows him in the side and hisses "Shut up!"

"Well, Sheriff Austin heard about us," Rhyno continues. "So he came back to the pharmacy to tell me. I left work and hunted them down and brought them home,"

"I was just about to leave for practice when they got here," Ashley says. "I _missed practice_ for this,"

Ashley glares at her brothers and they flinch. Heath would reassure her that one practice doesn't mean she won't place at her next pageant, but honestly the threat of her revenge if that happens seems to be helping the severity of the situation sink into the twins' brains.

"I've got this now, Ashley honey. You can go on out, if you want," Heath says. She nods and leaves, grabbing her exercise bag on her way out.

"As for you!" Heath says, turning back to John and Justin. "What on Earth is the matter with you two? Getting the Sheriff involved! This goes so far beyond stupid pranks in school! And of all people to antagonize you picked _Baron Corbin_! Why would... _please_ tell me this isn't you two taking Dean's side in his stupid fight with Baron,"

The two of them don't say anything.

"He's a jerk," John says eventually.

"Yes he is!" Heath says. "But he's a jerk who fixes my van quick and doesn't gouge the prices. And he's an _adult_ , which means he deserves more respect than...what?"

Heath looks over at Rhyno, who knows more of the particulars.

"Neon spray paint graffiti," Rhyno supplies.

"God, Baron must be spiting mad right now," Heath says. "Just...just go to your room, boys. I'll deal with you in a bit,"

They trudge to their room, clearly dreading their punishment.

Heath is so tired.

"I don't understand how any of this is happening," Heath says. "And why didn't anyone _call me_?"

"You were working and I was there when Austin got the call," Rhyno says. "We figured I could handle it until you got home,"

"You're not their _Dad_ ," Heath says. He rubs his face. "It's just best to let me handle things like this, ok? No reason to burn yourself out faster than you have to,"

"What does that mean?" Rhyno asks.

Heath looks up. Rhyno looks upset.

"It'll just make things harder when you leave, is all I'm saying," Heath says.

That was the wrong thing to say, apparently, because he looks, if anything, even more upset.

"I'm not going to leave, though," Rhyno says.

"Yeah, they all say that," Heath says. "And sometimes they even stay a while. But where are they now, Rhyno?"

Heath makes a sweeping motion with his hands, gesturing to...everything. The trailer. The kids. Heath himself.

"Do you know?" Heath asks. "'Cuz I sure as hell don't,"

Rhyno is silent, and Heath thinks _Well now you've done it. Another alpha out the door. Bravo, Heath. Well done._

Rhyno sighs and steps forward and pulls Heath into a hug.

"I'm not trying to be their parent. But I can take some of the load off your shoulders. Mine are strong enough to handle it," Rhyno says.

Heath relaxes and leans down to rest his forehead on Rhyno's shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I'm just...so tired. I don't know what's gotten into me. Or the boys. What were they thinking?"

"That they wouldn't get caught and Baron Corbin is a dick, probably," Rhyno says.

Heath laughs. He muffles it, so the twins won't think he's not mad anymore.

 

Heath parks the van outside Baron's garage. He gets out calmly and opens the side door and climbs back in so that he can grab John and Justin both by the ear. He drags them both out of the van and marches them straight up to Baron's door.

Baron looks up from the car he's working on when he hears them come in and immediately scowls. He walks over to them, and towers over John and Justin like the pissed off giant he is. John and Justin immediately cower and try to hide behind Heath.

"Baron, my boys have something they want to say to you," Heath says, and shoves them forward a little bit.

"We're sorry Mr. Corbin," John and Justin say in perfect unison.

"I am _mortified_ that any children of mine would do something so _reckless_ and _mean-spirited,_ " Heath says pointedly, and John and Justin flinch. "Believe you me, Baron, they are _grounded forever_ ,"

Baron stares down the twins in silence for a good thirty seconds. Heath thinks they've stopped breathing after 10.

"They're going to help clean it up," Baron says. The boys nod frantically.

"I'll bring them by Saturday morning, bright and early," Heath says.

"I'll tell Austin to forget everything," Baron says. They both know that Sheriff Austin wouldn't actually do anything to the boys, but John and Justin don't.

"Go back to the van," Heath says to the boys. They run like a wolf's after them.

"I really am sorry about this, Baron," Heath says.

Baron shrugs. "Kids do stupid shit. If they'd got paint on a car or my bike, you'd be down two kids, Slater, but I don't give a shit about the wall,"

Heath drops the twins off Saturday morning and Corey Graves is chatting animatedly with Baron and gesturing to the wall.  He has also, it seems, dragged his boyfriend Tom along which means there will be one calm, responsible adult around, at least.

"I'll make sure they stay hydrated and get lunch," Tom says.

"Thank you, Tom," Heath says, relieved.

Heath spends the day trying to help Shane and Daniel on their new project, the deadline having been moved up since Stephanie's making power plays again. When he comes back later to collect the boys everyone is covered in paint and exhausted but Baron's wall now has a mural straight out of a Metal album cover on it.

"Figured if we were already painting, we might as well go all out," Baron says.

Heath nods, because that seems reasonable to him.

"Tom planned the whole thing out!" John says. "Corey kept trying to add things, though, so Tom dumped paint on him. It was great!"

Tom turns bright red, embarrassed, and now that Heath pays attention Corey does look suspiciously blue. And so does Tom, for that matter, from where Corey probably tried to take revenge.

Baron's lucky the whole garage didn't turn into a tie-dyed paint splatter mess.

"I think I want to take art classes, Dad," Justin says.

"You can talk to Sami on Monday about getting them on your schedule next year then," Heath says. The school year's almost over now, so there's no point in worrying about it for this year.

It didn't turn out to have been much of a punishment, in the end, but maybe art classes will give the twins something to channel their energy into.

 

 

Heath's been trying not to cry all day.  He's just _so proud_. Rosco, his baby, the baby he'd had when he was younger than Rosco is now, is _graduating High School_. He's going to college in a few months. Rosco is a _grown up_ now.

"It's ok to cry," Rhyno says, leaning in close.

"If I cry I might miss it," Heath says, shaking his head and getting his camera ready.

The vice-principal calls "Slater, Rosco," and the entire family explodes into cheers. Even Mary Lou can't contain her excitement and jumps up from her seat and waves her arms.

"Yeah, Rosco!" Ashley yells.

"WHOO!" Brandi Lynn yells.

John and Justin set off the air horn they'd smuggled in.

Rosco grins and shakes hands with the principal and gets his diploma. He holds it up in victory and then goes back to his seat.

The ceremony goes on in a blur, the kids all throw their caps even though they'd been warned not to, and after they have to go find Rosco.

"There he is!" Leroy says excitedly from his perch on Rhyno's shoulders, and they have to fight their way through the crowd to get to him.

"You did it, Rosco," Heath says, hugging him tight. "I am _so proud_ of you,"

"Thanks, Dad," Rosco says, grinning.

When Heath finally lets him go, Rosco goes up to Rhyno and high fives Leroy. Then he hugs Rhyno, who looks stunned and grateful.  Heath can't hear what Rosco says to him, but Rhyno nods solemnly.

"We've got to get a family picture," Rosco says.

"I'll take it," one of Rosco's friends says and Heath hands his camera over.  Everyone starts to shuffle together into place.

Rhyno goes to let Leroy down off his shoulders so that he can be in the picture, but Brandi Lynn and Rosco grab him and pull him into the group, beside Heath.

"Guess they must like you or something," Heath says, laughing at Rhyno's expression.

"Well he's part of the family now, isn't he?" John says with an eyeroll.

"Everybody say 'Graduation'!" Rosco's friend says, and takes the picture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da! The end! Thank you all for reading and for sticking with this the entire time. 
> 
> Also, I made a Mix for this story which you can find here: https://playmoss.com/en/achika/playlist/the-way-it-s-got-to-be
> 
> Beware that it includes both songs to give you Feels and songs that are so on the nose it made me laugh. 
> 
> Follow me on twitter @withoutthesour for more ridiculous wrestle talk and sneak peaks of what i'm writing next.


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